### Warning: small spoilers will follow…..###. Cannibal Apocalypse (the most popular title out of its 20 alternate ones) is one of the most banned and heaviest cut movies in the world. Yet, if you look beyond its vicious reputation and the nasty sounding title, you'll discover than it's in fact a lot more than just another sleazy Italian horror film. Apocalypse is deeper and more clever than it looks and I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism of the screenplay. The film asked itself the same question I was wavering. `How does a strictly social ritual, such as cannibalism, grows out to become a contagious disease?' Of course, you don't get a waterproof explanation for this but at least I feel like Antonio Margheriti and his crew tried their best to add range, debt and plot-thickening aspects. The ultra-charismatic and underrated actor John Saxon (really, I'm 100% heterosexual, but this man IS handsome!) plays Norman Hopper, a traumatized Vietnam veteran. Along with two fellow soldiers, he brought back a hugely disturbing virus that spreads cannibalism in the streets of Atlanta.<br /><br />True, Cannibal Apocalypse does contain a few tedious sequences but these are rapidly forgotten whilst looking at other and highly exiting scenes. Apocalypse opens with a brilliant and truly atmospheric Vietnam flashback and further in the film there's a compelling hostage-situation in a flea market (which is obviously influenced by Romero's Dawn of the Dead). Apocalypse doesn't feature an overload of nauseating gore or explicit violence. Especially not when compared to some of its namesakes, like Cannibal Ferox, Jungle Holocaust, Eaten Alive or Mountain of the Cannibal God. Still, some make-up effects in this film are – although cheesy – rather hard to digest. People's faces are being blown of by shotguns and there even is one scene in which a body gets entirely hacked up with a grinding-machine! Plus, for the real gorehounds amongst you, there's a gruesome eyeball moment as well (Seriously, what's with all Italian directors and there obsession for eyeball-terror??). As mentioned before, the starring of John Saxon surely increases the status of this film. His grimaces stay impressive throughout the whole movie. Also starring is Giovanni Lombardo Radice. This guy has one of the coolest careers in cinema ever, seeing he also appeared in milestone titles like Fulci's `City of the Living Dead', `Cannibal Ferox' and Rugero Deodato's `House on the Edge of the Park'. Lombardo Radice always ends up horribly butchered and Cannibal Apocalypse isn't an exception to this!! I'd say Cannibal Apocalypse is a eurohorror adventure for the more experienced fans who have seen enough plot-less, overrated cannibal shockers. Perhaps they'll appreciate the efforts Margheriti did here. Give it a try….